1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical junction box.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electrical junction box as shown in FIG. 7 has conventionally been disclosed.
The electrical junction box 80 is made up of a circuit body 82 having a plurality of stacked busbar circuit boards 81, relay terminals 84 of a female-female type which are connected to tab-like terminals 83 disposed on the busbar circuit boards 81, a housing member 85 which receives the tab-like terminals 83 and the relay terminals 84, and an upper cover (not shown) for covering the housing member 85. The tab-like terminals 83 firmly stand upright, projecting from the circuit body 82.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the assembly of the electrical junction box 80 is completed by inserting the tab-like terminals 83 into the relay terminals 84 at one end to make an electrical connection therebetween, inserting the relay terminals 84, the other end first, into the receiving cavities 86 of the housing member 85, and fitting the upper cover to the housing member 85. Because the tab-like terminals 83 of the circuit body 82 are disposed in a row arrangement in the electrical junction box 80, the relay terminals 84 are also disposed likewise with the same pitch P as of the tab-like terminals 83.
With the above structure, however, the relay terminals 84 in connection with the tab-like terminals 83, being not locked relative to the latter, tend to tilt to the front and back or left and right relative to the circuit body 82 as shown in FIG. 9, resulting in the positional accuracy of relay terminals 84 lowered. Especially where the pitch P of the tab-like terminals 83 is small, neighboring relay terminals 84, 84 are caused to contact or interfere with each other. If the tilted relay terminal 84 is in error pushed into or against the housing member 85, it may get bent and deformed and at the worst broken.
This invention has been accomplished to overcome the above drawback and an object of this invention is to provide an electrical junction box which prevents lowering of positional accuracy of relay terminals relative to mating terminals, and which prevents deformation of relay terminals. A method of assembling an electrical junction box is also provided.
In order to attain the object, according to an aspect of this invention, there is provided an electrical junction box which comprises: a relay terminal; a housing member having a receiving cavity formed therein for receiving the relay terminal; a circuit body having a mating terminal which mates with the relay terminal; and a locking means provided on the relay terminal for locking the relay terminal in the receiving cavity of the housing member.
In the above electrical junction box, the relay terminal has the locking means which enables the relay terminal to be locked and stationary in the receiving cavity of the housing member. The relay terminal thus does not move out of place relative to the mating terminal.
Preferably, the locking means comprises a pair of locking bosses of round shape which project on both side walls of the relay terminal extending parallel to an insertion direction of the relay terminal into the receiving cavity.
Advantageously, the locking bosses are located at spaced positions in a longitudinal direction of the relay terminal.
In the above electrical junction box, the pair of locking bosses are located on both side walls of the relay terminal, at spaced positions in the longitudinal direction of the relay terminal. The relay terminal is thus locked in the receiving cavity by two locking bosses at two positions, enabling the relay terminal not to move out of place especially in the direction perpendicular to the relay terminal insertion direction.
Preferably, the locking means comprises a pair of locking bosses extending in a longitudinal direction on both side walls of the relay terminal while curved outwardly.
Preferably, the locking means comprises a pair of locking bosses extending in a longitudinal direction on both side walls of the relay terminal while projected outwardly in trapezoidal form.
According to another aspect of this invention, there is provided a method of assembling an electrical junction box having a relay terminal, a housing member with a receiving cavity formed therein for receiving the relay terminal, a circuit body having a mating terminal which mates with the relay terminal, and a locking means provided on the relay terminal for locking the relay terminal in the receiving cavity, which comprises: locking the relay terminal in the receiving cavity of the housing member by means of the locking means to prepare a sub connector; and assembling the sub connector to the circuit body to electrically connect the mating terminal of the circuit body to the relay terminal inside the sub connector.
In the above electrical junction box, because the relay terminal is locked in the receiving cavity of the housing member by means of the locking means, the relay terminal does not move out of place and is maintained in position in the receiving cavity. Further, because the sub connector is assembled to the circuit body to have the mating terminal of the circuit body inserted into the relay terminal inside the sub connector, an interference between the relay terminal and the housing member is prevented during assembling together the circuit body and the sub connector.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.